Sanctuary (1)

A consecrated place giving protection
to those fleeing from justice or persecution; or, the privilege of
taking refuge in such consecrated place. The right of sanctuary
was based on the inviolability attached to things sacred, and not,
as some have held, on the example set by the Hebrew cities of
refuge. It was recognized under the Code of Theodosius (399) and
later by that of Justinian. Papal sanction was first given to it
by Leo I, about 460, though the first Council of Orange had dealt
with the matter in 441. The earliest mention of sanctuary in
England was in a code of laws promulgated by King Ethelbert in
600. The right of asylum was originally confined to the church
itself, but in course of time its limits were extended to the
precincts, and sometimes even to a larger area. Thus, at Beverley
and Hexham, the boundaries of sanctuary extended throughout a
radius of a mile from the church, the limits being marked by
"sanctuary crosses", some of which still remain. In
Norman times there were two kinds of sanctuary in England, one
belonging to every church by prescription and the other by special
royal character. The latter was considered to afford a much safer
asylum and was enjoyed by at least twenty-two churches, including
Battle, Beverley, Colchester, Durham, Hexham, Norwich, Ripon,
Wells, Winchester, Westminster, and York. A fugitive convicted of
felony and taking the benefit of sanctuary was afforded protection
from thirty to forty days, after which, subject to certain severe
conditions, he had to "abjure the realm", that is leave
the kingdom within a specified time and take an oath not to return
without the king's leave. Violation of the protection of sanctuary
was punishable by excommunication. In some cases there was a stone
seat within the church, called the "frith-stool", on
which it is said the seeker of sanctuary had to sit in order to
establish his claim to protection. In others, and more commonly,
there was a large ring or knocker on the church door, the holding
of which gave the right of asylum. Examples of these may been seen
at Durham cathedral, St. Gregory's, Norwich, and elsewhere. The
ecclesiastical right of sanctuary ceased in England at the
Reformation, but was after that date allowed to certain
non-ecclesiastical precincts, which afforded shelter chiefly to
debtors. The houses of ambassadors were also sometimes
quasi-sanctuaries. Whitefriars, London (also called Alsatia), was
the last place of sanctuary used in England, but it was abolished
by Act of Parliament in 1697. In other European countries the
right of sanctuary ceased towards the end of the eighteenth
century.